Allegheny County already is fighting an uphill battle to attract employers and keep young people from leaving. Yet instead of focusing on job growth, the Board of Health is proposing a mandate requiring every employer to provide up to 18 weeks of parental leave (“Allegheny County makes a push for paid parental leave,” May 13, TribLive). Eighteen weeks — in a county that’s already struggling to stay competitive.
This proposal would crush small businesses, drive larger employers to friendlier regions and send a clear message to anyone considering investing here to look elsewhere. At a time when we should be doing everything possible to grow jobs, this mandate would push them out the door.
We have world‑class hospitals, top universities and a growing AI research sector. These are the very strengths that should be attracting new companies. Instead, the board is entertaining a regulation that would make Allegheny County one of the most expensive places in the state to operate.
Supporters say paid leave “eases financial constraints.” But what good are benefits if the employers offering them disappear? And the few that remain would be forced to raise prices on all of us.
Even if this mandate never becomes law, the fact that it was drafted at all shows a troubling disconnect. Allegheny County needs policies that grow jobs, not drive them away.
Dave Majernik
Plum